This Is Home
by crmcevoy
Summary: A year after Callie left for New York, she arrives back in Seattle with Sofia.
1. Chapter 1

It had been a year since Arizona showed up on Callie Torres' doorstep with plane tickets for her and Sofia to follow Penny to New York. The weather tonight was reminiscent of that very night - a storm was brewing in Seattle, and the downpour of rain was just the beginning.

Arizona had just finished at Grey Sloan for the day. She'd been in and out of surgery all day with expectant mothers, and she even squeezed in a Paediatric case, which was very rare these days for the double-board certified surgeon.

With the rain being so heavy it took Arizona almost twice as long to get home, being diverted around roads that had been blocked off for severe flooding. By the time she pulled up into her driveway is had just gone 8pm, which meant it was just gone 11pm in New York. Arizona knew it was too late to Skype with Sofia as she'd be fast asleep.

The porch light was on which wasn't unusual. After Alex stumbled and tripped up the porch stairs one night helping Arizona carry a new bookcase for Sofia's room, he was adamant that the blonde have a porch light fitted so she didn't break her leg, or prosthesis, when drunk, or carrying something or just by slipping in the Seattle rain that was so frequent. Plus it was also a safety precaution - you could never be too careful.

 _"Robbins just get a damn light put out here aleady. I'll set it up myself if you don't get it sorted."_

 _"Oh please Karev, you'll electrocute yourself and turn into the guy you were before I came along and kicked the crap out of you."_

 _"Dude, this isn't up for discussion."_

 _Arizona always had a soft spot for Alex and she was grateful that he cared so much. He'd made sure they hung out at least once a week so she didn't get lonely when Sofia was in New York. She could tell him she was fine all she wanted but Karev saw straight through her smile._

 _"Fine, do what you want."_

 _Karev nodded knowing that this was the blondes' way of saying thank you._

As Arizona entered her home she couldn't shake the feeling that she'd carried around with her all day. Sure the rain had made her remember the night she gave up her daughter, but that's something she had lived with every day since. But she couldn't shake the feeling that her daughter, and Callie, should be back in Seattle by now. It had been a very long year without them and she didn't know how much longer she could manage without them here in Seattle. It was nights like tonight when the weather was so bad that all she wanted more than anything in the world was for her family to be together under one roof, cuddled up together.

After a long shift and the rain detouring her route home, Arizona was ready for a quiet night in with a movie, some ice cream and a glass of wine. It was rare that the blonde had evenings to herself, but they had become a regular thing since DeLuca moved out after her last trip to New York two months ago. Though she missed the company she knew she wouldn't be alone for much longer as Sofia would be back from New York and living in Seattle again any day now. Arizona couldn't wait for her daughter to be back where she belonged, at home with her in Seattle with the village her and Callie had built together over the years.

Pouring herself a glass of red wine and grabbing a blanket and some extra throw pillows, Arizona sat down, wrapped herself up and finally began to unwind. She'd been keeping herself busier than usual this last year since Callie moved with Sofia to be with Penny, but these last two months in particular Arizona had crammed in all the surgery and research she possibly could so that when Sofia returned she could scale back and spend as much time with her daughter as possible. So with DeLuca now gone she found her nights eerily quiet, longing for her daughter to fill the house with love and laughter – making it feel like home to the blonde again.

Because of the time difference Arizona didn't get to Skype Sofia often in the evenings. By the time she was home it would be past Sofia's bedtime in New York, so Arizona would call during the workday to catch up with her daughter. Those calls got the surgeon through some rough days. No matter how busy she was saving the lives of children and expectant mothers, Arizona would always make time for Sofia. Sitting on the sofa Arizona thought about Sofia sound asleep in her bed and her heart swelled at the thought. She knew the brunette little girl would be mumbling in her sleep – a trait she took after Callie – and most likely starfished in her bed – a trait she took after Arizona.

 _It won't be much longer._

Arizona knew that she'd do nothing but watch her daughter sleep every night when she returned. Something about watching Sofia Robbin Sloan Torres sleep put the woman at ease. It was in a similar way Callie had always calmed the blonde. It didn't necessarily have to be with words or action, but just simply being there had always been enough. While Sofia may not have been what Arizona had always wanted, she was so grateful that Callie brought her into her life and changed it for the better. Even if she couldn't have Callie, she would always have Sofia.

A knock at the door brought Arizona out of her blissful thoughts of her daughter. It was 10pm, who could possibly be at her door at this time of night with a storm going on outside?

Setting her wine glass down and keeping the blanket wrapped around her, Arizona answered the door only to be stunned at the sight in front of her.

"Mommy!"

"Hey sweet girl! What are you doing here?" Sofia ran into Arizona giving her a hug while the blonde dumbfounded looked up at the tall brunette in front of her. Sensing that her mother was in shock, Sofia let go of Arizona, smiled at her and sat down on the couch eating the ice cream Arizona hadn't yet opened.

"So picture this, we're in New York and the weather is lovely. It's humid and sunny and we're eating ice cream but I'm crying. So when Sofia asks me why I'm crying I say to her that I miss you, like I really miss you. When she says that she misses you too she begins to cry and we're both just there eating our ice cream unable to stop crying. And it hits me, I should have left New York with you two months ago, and so we left. We got on a plane and left New York. We came home. I came home, to you. You're my home Arizona."

Suddenly Callie had just said everything Arizona had wanted her to say for two months. Their last time in New York was different than any other time and the blonde couldn't help but wonder if her and Callie would have the opportunity to be a family with Sofia again in the future. Of course she always wondered this, but that last time in New York it really became a possibility.

"Calliope" was all Arizona could say. She smiled her super magical smile and that's all Callie needed to hear to know that she was home at last.


	2. Chapter 2

It had been a year since Arizona showed up on Callie Torres' doorstep with plane tickets for her and Sofia to follow Penny to New York. The weather tonight was reminiscent of that very night - a storm was brewing in Seattle, and the downpour of rain was just the beginning. A lot had changed in the last year – the blonde had become so renowned as a foetal surgeon, thanks to Nicole Herman spreading the word of her protégée, that she had taken on a number of complex cases that no one else would touch. She was speaking at conferences and assuring that Grey Sloan took on residents with a specific interest in foetal surgery so that she could pass on her own knowledge and the skills that Herman had passed onto her. Arizona had become a goddess of both foetal and paediatric surgery in this past year, all of which she knows wouldn't have been possible if she hadn't been trying to fill the hole in her life that was the existence of one Callie Torres and their daughter

 _"You're my home Arizona."_

Just like that, everything in the last year had come full circle. Callie was now on Arizona's doorstep with their daughter. Only this time no one was going anywhere; there were no plane tickets involved, no custody agreements to work out, there was nothing but a year of lost time between the two of them.

But why was the brunette here in Seattle with Sofia? Arizona knew that she would bring Sofia back in the next few days because that's what had been discussed when she was last in New York two months ago. Why now? Why was she here without any sort of warning or communication? What had gone so wrong in New York that Calliope Torres was saying all these words from her beautiful mouth?

* * *

 **Two months ago…**

Her last visit to New York was indeed the last visit Arizona thought she would have to make. Penny's Preminger Grant was only for a year, and it been almost 11 months, so the blonde had expected that Callie and Sofia would return to Seattle in the next few weeks. But on her last visit Callie wasn't excited about coming home, rather her demeanour was subdued and less like her usual self.

When Arizona came to New York she would get a fancy suite in a nice hotel and spoil Sofia to make up for all the time she'd missed out on. On her last night in the city Callie came by to give Arizona Sofia's coat because the temperature in New York had dropped a few degrees earlier in the day. Rather than dropping it off and leaving to return to Penny, Callie hovered around the hotel suite.

"Callie, you're hovering. If you're going to hover you can at least do it in here."

Arizona moved aside and let the Latina into her suite. She could sense that something was on the brunettes mind. But Callie is like a scared lost puppy sometimes; you can't force her to talk to you when her head is all over the place. You have to let her gravitate towards you on her own accord when she feels slightly more at ease. But with this being Arizona's last night she didn't want to drag out this feeling of doubt that had entered the room – she just wanted to spend the night in her pyjamas eating ice cream and watching Disney movies with her daughter.

"Sorry" Callie smiled slightly as she entered the room, her eyes looking to the ground as if not to show her face to her ex-wife.

"Thanks for dropping off Sofia's coat, you didn't need to though. We're in for the night so you could have brought it over tomorrow on the way to the airport."

"Well I wanted to make sure she had it, just in case."

Before Arizona could ask Callie why she was really at her hotel suite, Sofia came running into the room swirling around in her new pyjamas that her Mommy had brought her from the Disney Store earlier in the day as a leaving gift.

"Look Mama, I'm shiny!"

Callie and Arizona just looked at each other and smiled at their daughter. Considering everything she had been through in her life she was one amazing and miraculous child. Her bubbly personality resembled that of the Arizona that used to roll around the hospital on wheeled sneaks but her ability to twirl around effortless was all Callie.

"Wow Sof, you look super awesome!" Arizona said taking Sofia by the hand and twirling her around like a princess.

"Well someone looks like they're ready for bed." Callie said in her stern Mama voice while smiling playfully as she knew that her bedtime wasn't for another couple of hours.

"Not yet Mama! Mommy and me are having a pyjama party and are going to watch a movie. Can you stay Mama?"

"Oh Sof I don't have any pyjamas with me." Not that this would be a problem. Before Sofia arrived into the world Callie and Arizona would frequently have pyjama parties minus the pyjamas – but that wouldn't really be appropriate anymore. In that moment all Arizona could think about were the pyjama parties where Callie always 'forgot' to wear her pyjamas. Both Callie and Arizona shared a glance at one another - their past very much in the room with them in the present.

"If you want to stay you should. I've got a top and spare bottoms you can wear. You should stay." Arizona wanted Callie to stay – not just so they could end her time in New York with a family night, but so she could keep an eye on Callie and get her to open up about what was on her mind. Despite all that had happened between the two of them, Arizona would always worry about Callie. Yes she'd been angry about her leaving therapy, and then the custody battle and her leaving Seattle for New York, but behind the anger and confusion was all the love in the world for one Calliope Torres.

Sofia fell asleep during the last half an hour of the movie. She was snuggled up into Arizona with her feet resting over Callie. Both mothers couldn't love this little girl anymore if they tried.

"I erm … I should get going. It's late and you have an early start tomorrow." Callie's voice was soft, just above a whisper as she tried not to disturb the sleeping girl next to her.

"Callie, you should stay. You look like you need to stay." The blondes voice was calm and collected as she smiled reassuringly. Callie didn't want to go home, that's why she came over in the first place. She knew Sofia had a coat with her, but she wanted – no, needed – an excuse to get away from Penny, and from everything for a while.

"Let me put little Miss Sofia here to bed and we can talk. How does that sound?" Callie nodded, appreciating that when Arizona said 'talk' she knew she could be herself and sit in silence if she wanted. The blonde was always very good at understanding her that way. Sometimes silence was all Callie needed to process. But she didn't come here to process tonight - she came for something else.

* * *

"Calliope" was all that Arizona could say - a smile from ear to ear as she saw Callie standing in front of her. She tilted her head and nodded in the direction of the house, signalling for the brunette to come inside.

Feeling just as lost and distracted as she had two months ago in New York, Callie couldn't help but look around at the home Arizona had built for herself. She'd not seen much of the house since their divorce but it was very Arizona. Not quite the Easter basket of pastel colours she once fought her on, but it was smiley enough. Callie even noticed elements of her own style that must have rubbed off on Arizona once she moved out of the old apartment.

With Sofia easily distracted with ice cream, the two women just stood and looked at each other. Both unsure of how to proceed, knowing that things were about to change again.

"So, you came home …"


	3. Chapter 3

Nervously smiling, "Of course I came home Arizona. How could I not?" That nervous smile and laugh that came with it always melted Arizona. This was Callie feeling vulnerable, the Callie that she had always loved, and the Callie that wore her heart on her sleeve. This was the Calliope Torres that Arizona Robbins had vowed to love for the rest of her life – even with separation, divorce and custody battles the blonde still vowed to love Callie for all of her days to come.

But this conversation would have to wait. The little girl sat on the couch was making her way through the pint of ice cream far too quickly.

"Sofia Robbin Sloan Torres, put that spoon down and give Mommy the ice cream." Arizona was never one for playing bad cop but when ice cream was concerned, she didn't like to share.

"But Mommy, it's so so so good!" Sofia had remnants of ice cream around her mouth and was a little sticky but she gave the spoon to Arizona just as she was asked to.

"You know how I feel about you eating ice cream without me, bug. You must always give ice cream to Mommy first." The blonde flashed one of her super magic smiles at her daughter and they just giggled as they continued to tuck into the remainder of the ice cream. Callie looked on as Arizona had Sofia sat on her lap, their daughter talking away and laughing with her blonde mother. How could Callie not come back to Seattle? She would forever miss out on watching the relationship between her daughter and other mother – and it was a relationship that was so special to watch.

It was already past Sofia's bedtime but because it was a special occasion, and being home reunited with her mother was indeed a special occasion – bedtime could wait a little longer. Callie sat down on the couch with Sofia in the middle of her and Arizona. The three of them just talked and laughed until the little brunette finally began to slow down.

"Right little miss, time for bed I think." Usually Sofia would kick up a fuss about going to bed when the three of them were together but tonight Arizona was able to get her to bed without protest. "I'm so glad you're home, I've missed you so much." Arizona softly said to her daughter as she drifted off to sleep. Followed by a kiss on her forehead, Arizona quietly left the room, leaving the door slightly ajar and whispering "I love you sweet girl" as she took her eyes off the peaceful girl sleeping in her bed – back in Seattle for good.

"Did she go down okay?" Any conversation between Callie and Arizona over the last few difficult years focussed on Sofia, and with Callie feeling a little uneasy about being in Arizona's home it seemed fitting to start the conversation with a familiar topic.

"Yep, no problems at all. I think she burned off the sugar rush from the ice cream with all of her talking. Or maybe your snoring on the plane kept her awake." Arizona teased Callie to make the conversation a little easier. Callie didn't even try to argue the fact that she snored, she could barely take her eyes off her ex-wife all night and she wanted nothing more than to blissfully look at her for however long the blonde would let her.

* * *

 _"Callie you're staring." Arizona didn't even have to look at the brunette to know she was staring. It was like a sixth sense – she could immediately feel those piercing brown eyes on her._

 _"Erm, sorry … I was just …" Callie couldn't quite get her words out. She'd come here tonight with the intention of talking to Arizona about something specific but she'd been nervous the whole night. The last thing Callie wanted to do was interrupt the blonde's last night with their daughter, but she'd put off this conversation the whole time Arizona had been in New York and she couldn't delay it any longer._

 _"So I have something to say and you're not going to like it but before you say anything I need you to let me finish because please Arizona you need to listen and really listen to what I'm going to say. And your face has already changed and I don't know how you're going to react – God I wish I knew how you were going to take this – but things have changed so much that I don't even know where to begin." Callie rambled. It's what she did when she was nervous and when something big was happening to her. Many times Arizona and Callie had been in a situation like this – like when the Latina wanted children but the blonde didn't, when Callie asked Arizona to move in for the first time, even in most arguments she would ramble because she didn't like confrontation with the blonde – she'd either get distracted by the sparkle in her blue eyes or her magic smile. But this time Callie knew she had to get the words out._

 _"Call … i … Callie … what's happened?" A million thoughts were racing through Arizona's mind. She wasn't going to like it but she had to sit and listen anyway? Oh God, please don't tell me that you're moving again or that Penny wants to get married. These were just some of the things floating around the blonde's head. As she waited for Callie to speak again her heart was racing, she too was feeling incredibly nervous. This Latina woman sat in front of her used to make her nervous for an entirely different reason, and yet here she fearing the worst. But how could things possibly get any worse than they have in the past year?_

* * *

Pouring herself and Callie a glass of wine, Arizona finally settled next to the brunette on the couch. Even though they were both nervous, they were somewhat relaxed too. No matter what had happened between the two of them there was always familiarity and a sense of peace when they were in the same room.

"You said we should all be happy, that Sofia deserved two happy moms …"


	4. Chapter 4

"And Sofia deserves two happy moms more than anything. She doesn't deserve the broken family, the back and forth of New York and Seattle. You hated moving all the time as a kid but you had Tim who made it better, Sofia doesn't have a Tim. She should have a Tim. She should be here. She calls Seattle home – and that's what makes her happy. You make her so incredibly happy Arizona. The way she lights up around you makes me love her so much more than I ever thought was possible." Callie's rambling reminds Arizona of that night two months ago in her hotel suite in New York. The blonde can tell that she's finding it hard to get to the root of what she really wants to say but she's learnt over the years to just let Callie speak and process through her ramblings.

* * *

"Call … i … Callie … what's happened?" Arizona couldn't predict where this conversation with Callie was going, but the brunette was rambling so much, and at times with so much passion infused in her eyes, that the blonde couldn't help but believe that Callie was going to say something good – that she'd come to some kind of epiphany about their situation with Sofia and the back and forth.

"Penny's grant has been extended." Callie said with a heavy heart.

Arizona didn't know how to respond. Her lips partially open as if to say something but Callie interjects before the blonde has chance to say anything.

"She's been doing really well here and New York is great – she loves the people she works with, she loves being specialised in her research, and she loves … me." Callie whispers the ending of her sentence. She loved Penny she really did but was it the kind of love that was all consuming as it was with her ex-wife? Of course not. It was easy and effortless a lot of the time. But Callie had begun to think not long into the move to New York that she was just coasting in her life now. Giving up a hospital that she owned and her role as head of Orthopaedics – something she'd worked her entire career for – these were the heights of her life professionally. Since then she hasn't been at conferences, or been asked to do TedX Talks, and she can't remember the last time she was flown out of state for a life-changing surgery where the patient wasn't stable for transport. Callie's life in New York was simple, structured and the complete opposite of the chaos in Seattle. She'd had her break from Grey Sloan to be with Penny. She'd had her break from the drama. She'd had her break from her old life. She'd had a break – period. But nothing in New York consumed her.

"And you love … ?" Arizona's question was barely audible. It was below a whisper. She'd heard how Penny loved New York and how Penny loved this and how Penny had loved that, but not once did she hear what Callie loved. The Callie she knew wore her heart on her sleeve and made it clear to everyone, including strangers and even at times patients, what she loved and who she loved. But Arizona didn't see this in Callie. The passion she thought she saw in Callie's eye she had mistaken for something else – relief.

"I love …" the brunette lets out a sigh before the ends of her mouth curl up into a smile. "I love the sound of the rain in Seattle and the smell once it has rained, I love the chaos and uncertainty of working at our hospital …" Callie emphasises the word "our" which makes Arizona's heart flutter – it's been a long time since Callie had approached the two of them in that way whether she meant it romantically or professionally it didn't matter, because regardless, Callie Torres had an effect on Arizona that had never gone away.

"I love, God I love so many things but I left so many of them behind to be here and to make New York and things with Penny work."

"And now?" The blonde didn't know how to approach the subject – she didn't want to get her hopes up and she didn't want to get into some kind of argument if the conversation went sour – but she wanted answers.

"Now I feel like I've healed and that I'm me again, or at least I'm getting there. I'm a badass surgeon, I build cartilage from nothing, I make soldiers walk and I damn good at it." There was the passion and the desire that Arizona had missed. It was like a fire had been ignited inside of Callie again.

"Callie …" Arizona really needed to speak now but didn't know if it was her place or whether she was allowed to stop listening to Callie's rambles. The brunette furrowed her eyebrow before giving a gentle nod of her head to tell the blonde that she could talk.

"You should come home …" Home – again that word sent Arizona's heart fluttering. When she said home she meant it. She'd never let Callie go completely, she'd always held out hope that they would find their way back to one another. But when she said home she felt that Callie might get the wrong impression.

"You should come home, to Seattle. It sounds like you miss it. Penny has New York and I don't know what's going on between you two and I don't know if I can hear about that side of your life, but Seattle and the hospital – the hospital that we built – isn't the same without you. Callie … come home." There it was again, Arizona asking Callie to come home. It slips off the tongue so easily that it takes all she has to not tell Callie how she really feels. How when she says home that she means being with her, being a family, being under one roof and doing things right.

"I ca …" Callie tries to speak but Arizona cuts her off just before she can say that she can't just up and leave.

"Think about it. You could come back with me tomorrow and bring Sofia. She could see Zola and you could stop by the hospital and see if that's where you want to be. And if it is where you want to be, if you're done here in New York, there will be patients lining up for you." Arizona finished her sentenced with a smile as she recalled saying something similar to Callie in a bar bathroom many years ago. Callie chuckled at the words and it seemed they were both remembering the same thing.

It was getting late and Callie had to get back to Penny. Before she finally left the hotel suite the two women hugged goodbye and Callie thanked Arizona for listening to her for so long. They rarely hugged anymore because they hardly saw each other. This was the closest they had been in years – not just physically but emotionally too. After staying up late talking emotions were running high and hugging goodbye that night seemed to send shockwaves between two of them. Pulling away out of the hug to leave the room, Callie found it hard to let go. She'd missed the scent of her ex-wife. She'd missed the way her ex-wife's head always fitted perfectly into her shoulder. She'd missed having her ex-wife in her arms. This wasn't a feeling she had with Penny, these were feelings she thought she had forgotten but they were resurfacing at the thought of going home. Home to Seattle. Home to Arizona?

Arizona let go first. Not that she wanted to, but because she had too. Being so close to Callie all night and not being able to be with her the way she wanted was hard and it was even harder to have her in her arms again after so long. She wanted more. She missed Callie's touch, her scent how the two of them fitted together as if it were always meant to be. But as Arizona let go Callie looked up. For the first time in years blue eyes were locked with brown and the connection, the electricity, between the two of them was undeniable. Arizona wanted to kiss Callie so much that night but she didn't. She'd been a cheater and wasn't going to let Callie be one either. Because a kiss could never just be a kiss for the two of them – it would always mean something, and it would always lead to something else. Instead their foreheads rested against each other, both soaking in the moment.

"I … I should go." Callie breathlessly said. She didn't want to go. Whatever had happened between her and her ex-wife tonight was more than just a conversation. It was comfort. It was home.

"Yeah … goodnight Calliope." Calliope. It fell out of Arizona's mouth so easily.

"Goodnight Arizona."


	5. Chapter 5

That night in New York had changed Arizona and Callie's relationship. Before Callie left Seattle and before the custody battle the two women were on relatively good terms. Though they may not have been romantically involved they had found a way to let the love they had for each other and their daughter blossom into a friendship. Just because you stop being in a relationship with someone doesn't mean that the love goes away. It was hard and at times it their friendship was tested, but both felt their lives were greatly improved with the other actively involved in their day-to-day life.

After the custody battle their friendship was non-existent. Where did that love go? There is a fine line between love and hate. Both Callie and Arizona had fought the battle as best as they could but neither left the situation unscathed. Arizona may have won sole custody of Sofia but she pushed Callie, the love of her life, further away, and in doing so Callie pushed Arizona to her limits and made it so their newfound friendship no longer existed.

But here they were a year after the court case, a year after New York, and they were both sat on the couch like old times in Seattle with the rain pouring outside like it always did. It was as if for a moment that no time had passed. It was almost as if they were where they were always meant to be living the life they were always supposed to share together.

* * *

After Callie left Arizona couldn't get the thought of the brunettes possible return home out of her mind. The blonde had to shake herself out of her train of thought several times because Callie was still with Penny, she hadn't said she was coming back, and maybe all the talk of coming home to Seattle would push Callie even further away.

Gently kissing Sofia on the forehead and pulling the covers up over her, Arizona finally settled into the bed next to her daughter – lying on her side facing the spitting image of Callie, watching her sleep. Before she could get too comfortable there was a faint knock on the hotel suite door. Arizona wouldn't have heard it if she wasn't still wide awake unable to get her ex-wife off her mind.

Looking through the peephole Arizona's breath was taken ever so slightly away. She thought she must have been in some kind of over exhausted dream state because what she was seeing couldn't really be happening.

"Calliope" the blonde breathlessly said. She didn't know what else to say – did she possibly have to say anything else to tell the brunette how she felt?

Callie didn't respond. She let brown and blue eyes meet just like they had a couple of hour's prior. Only this time something was different. Callie was really looking at Arizona for the first time in years.

Somewhere between opening the door and locking eyes on one another the two had gravitated closer to one another; the chemistry and electricity still apparent from earlier in the night. Arizona broke eye contact first, shuffling aside to make space for Callie to enter the suite for the second time that night.

"So …" Arizona began saying … something. The blonde was confused. Why was Callie here again? It was late, or early, the time not really registering to the Latina.

"Stop …" Callie cut Arizona off. It was evident that she wasn't going to waste anytime, she had something to say and she needed to say it promptly before she lost the courage to do so.

"I went home, though it didn't feel like home when I walked through the door. Truth be told it never has. I've felt more at home tonight with you and Sofia than I have in months. I know you don't want to hear about my relationship with Penny but there's something you should know. You're the one person I want to tell more than anything. This involves me as much as it does Sofia and you." Arizona's head tilted to the side, a confused expression still on her face. Her stomach was in knots but her heart hasn't stopped fluttering since the minute she saw Callie through the peephole. Could this really be happening?

"Penny's grant is great … but it's great for her. But it's not great for our relationship. Things have been so strained here. Sofia will always come first and Penny couldn't handle that at times. She's not ready to be a mom and I so wanted to believe that she was. But she's not. Sofia has two moms and that's the only two moms she should ever have." The blonde was trying exceptionally hard not to smile too much at the thought that Callie and Penny's relationship wasn't as perfect as it had been made out to be. But then she found herself smiling for another reason.

"I want to come home Arizona. And not just to Seattle …" There is was. The words Arizona had been waiting to hear since the moment Callie walked out on therapy two years ago. Her Calliope was finally coming back to her.

"But I can't … at least not right away." And just like that Arizona's smile disappeared and tuned back into a confused expression and furrowed eyebrows. Callie had just said she wants to come home, what could possibly be stopping her from coming back to Seattle with Sofia on the same flight as her in the morning?

"Callie, you can't just say all these wonderful miraculous things with that beautiful mouth of yours and bring everything to a crashing halt by telling me that you can't do it. Is this payback for me saying I wanted another child and then I didn't? Is this because you're trying to make the concept of coming home romantic by playing hard to get? Because it's not fun Callie." Arizona really didn't know how to respond, she had so much pent up thoughts after hearing Callie say all the things she'd wanted to hear for so long that now the moment had happened she didn't know how to process it.

Before she was given a chance to say anything else Callie's hands were on Arizona's hips before pulling her in closer and wrapping her arms around the blondes waist completely. Arizona gave out a breathless sigh. As the tension in her shoulders released she wrapped her arms around Callie's neck just like she had done many times before. Their foreheads resting against one another for the second time that night, blue eyes once again locked with brown.

"Arizona …" Callie let out softly. Before she could say anything else the blondes' lips met hers. It was soft, sweet, innocent and yet full of passion and desire.

"Calliope" Arizona pulled back as she said the Latinas name in the way that only she could say.

"I'm coming home …" replied the brunette. Foreheads resting on each other and eyes once again locked.


	6. Chapter 6

"So I'm back two months later than I should have been and I know, I know, how hard it must have been for you to have had the night we did in New York and then have the distance between us because it was so hard for me too…" Between Callie's ramblings and Arizona giving her the time that she needed to say what she needed to say, their hands had intertwined while sat on the couch. They didn't know exactly when it happened, it was a natural progression – something they had done many times before in their marriage, and something you get used to doing subconsciously when you're in love with someone – but it was a progression that signalled that Callie was back in Seattle, that their daughter was asleep down the hall under the same roof as both of her mothers and that their family was officially home.

"You know I kicked DeLuca out when I got back from New York. Everyone thought I was crazy. When I told them that you and I were potentially together again but you hadn't come home yet people judged, we became the talk of the hospital and all that had happened between us in two years was that kiss in New York!" Arizona chuckled at how the hospital talked so much about the prospect of the great love story of Callie and Arizona becoming a reality again. They'd made their mistakes but everyone knew ultimately they would find their way back to one another someday. Arizona's final night in New York with Callie while Sofia slept next to them was just the beginning of things to come. The thought of how that night ended made Arizona beam and made her heart swell.

* * *

Arizona could have kissed Callie all night and never let her go, but if they hadn't stopped after that first kiss chances are things would have gone too far before they'd even officially gotten back together.

"I'm coming home …" The brunette held the gaze of Arizona's blue eyes for as long as possible; soaking up the vulnerability in her eyes that were filled with tears yet to fall. "I wish I could come back with you tomorrow, but …"

"You have things to finish up here …" Arizona finished.

"I do. But I'll be back, I'll be home …" Callie let the word home slip out of her mouth effortlessly allowing it to grace the biggest smile on her face that Arizona hadn't seen in years. This was the Calliope that she knew and loved. The feelings never faded, and while both may have strayed from one another, they had found their way back to each other somehow. " … as soon as I can. Sofia finishes school in a few weeks and then they'll be nothing stopping us … you, me and Sofia together." Arizona shudders and her legs go weak at the sound of the three of them together. Callie holds her steady while chuckling to herself.

"It's late, I should go." Calliope said heavily knowing that she really didn't want to go. Everything she wanted was here in this one hotel suite, the woman she knew as home was in her arms and she didn't want to let go.

"Stay, you should stay." Arizona's smile was enough to light up the room, her eyes now beaming from excitement that her and Callie could be together tonight knowing they weren't doing anything wrong.

It didn't take much convincing for Callie to spend the night. In fact it took no convincing at all. With Sofia already asleep, and the blonde and brunette exhausted from talking for hours, sleeping together was the only thing they wanted to do for their remaining time together. They didn't need sex to be intimate, just sleeping together in the same bed for the first time in years, interlocked and wrapped in each other, was enough for them both to know that they were where they were meant to be; and with the person they were supposed to be with. Callie wrapped her arms around Arizona from behind, kissing her shoulder as they gently drifted off to sleep. Every now and then Callie could feel the blonde pulling her in closer and Callie tightened her grip on her ex-wife assuring the blonde that this was real; that she was really there, that they were really lying in bed together.

Sofia was sound asleep in the bed next to them, and Arizona was almost too excited and giddy to drift off to sleep. But for the first time in a long time falling asleep was easy. She felt safe, and loved, and cared for – so much so that none of the rest of it mattered. When she would leave in the morning to return to Seattle she knew it would be hard but the prospect of something greater would keep her going. However long it took Callie to return home didn't matter. Though she wanted her back as soon as possible she too had things to sort out in Seattle. For starters her house resembled the Easter basket that Callie once upon a time refused to live in, and she still had a roommate that she would have to kick out so her and Callie could be a family with Sofia. Callie had a job to give notice on, Sofia had school to finish and of course there would be things to sort out with Penny regarding getting possessions back and living arrangements. Arizona didn't really want to think about that but even though she had Callie wrapped around her, not knowing what would happen after she leaves was playing on her mind.

"Mama!" Sofia woke up long before Callie and Arizona did – after all they had a late night figuring things out. But Sofia hadn't seen her mother's together like this in years. Any time she had seen them together as a couple was when she was much younger and she didn't really remember much of it. But the sight of her mother's wrapped around each other in one big embrace made the little girl so happy that she wanted to get in on it too. Sofia loosed Callie's grip on her blonde mother and wedged herself in between the two of them. The commotion of their daughter woke them up; usually both would be grouchy if woken abruptly but not this morning. With a slight gaze at one another while throwing their arms around the little girl in between them, both knew that this is how mornings should always begin.

"Mama, you're still here. You spent the night with me and mommy?"

"Erm, yeah Sof I did …" Callie said nonchalantly trying not to get the girls hopes up that her blonde mother would be staying longer or that their family was back together officially.

"You slept in the same bed as mommy? But what about Penny?" The little girl was far too observant for her own good at times. Her mothers had barely been awake five minutes and already they were faced with hard questions that they too hadn't figured out the answers to just yet.

* * *

"Everyone always knows everyone's business in that hospital. God I missed that." Both Callie and Arizona just looked at each other and chuckled at the fact that they were going to be the centre of attention for some time. Both fell closer together before finally their hands unlocked and the brunette gently brushed a lock of blonde hair behind Arizona's ear. Pulling the blonde closer to her their lips met in a kiss reminiscent of that in New York only this time neither would have to stop; no one would have to let go; no one would be leaving.


End file.
